Unfortunately, once the warmth comes, I pretty much can’t fight it. Sometimes it comes as rather inconvenient times. As a college student, I used to sit in the front row of the class room, but as soon as the lights dimmed and the power point presentation and lulling lecture voice came on, I was out. Don’t even get me started on in class movies. I was a goner for sure. I knew it was incredibly rude to sleep in class, especially in the front row, but it was like my other reflexes kicked in and took over. Like I was a remote control robot or a puppet on someone else’s stings. Just about all of my friends know not to watch tv or a movie with me. It’s not a method of socializing for me – it’s a sure fire way to put me to sleep. Even when I paid $18 to see Avatar in Imax 3-D I fell asleep for 20+ minutes. I’m not so sure where all this began or why it happens, but my best guess is that I have had a TV in my room since I was 5. And just about every night for the last 18 years, I have fallen asleep to the flickering of the screen. Like Pavlov conditioned his dogs to salivate whenever they heard a bell, I have unintentionally conditioned my brain to power down when the TVs on. In a nutshell, this means that I very very rarely stay awake through movies and sometimes not even through my favorite sitcoms. It doesn’t matter if I am watching infomercials or a very interesting tv drama, I fall asleep. People ask me quite frequently if it bothers me that I rarely see the middle/end of movies. The truth is, no, not really. Sure, I’d like to know exactly what I missed, but I’m not losing sleep over it. (HAHAHAHA!)
Sometimes this way more embarrassing than inconvenient. Sure, I can fall asleep in airplanes and on essentially any car ride, but sometimes I really don’t want to and it just sort of happens. Last year my friends and residents often came over to my residence hall room to visit at night. Typically, the TV or a movie would be on and I’d be sitting in/on my bed, so they could sit on the couch or at the desk. It became common place that they would let themselves out of the room at the end of the night because I’d have fallen asleep. It’s pretty sad that a resident, four years my junior, who I was supposed to be taking care of, would regularly cover me in blankets, take the glasses on my head and put them on my night stand, turn off the tv and light, and lock the door on his way out. Sometimes residents/friends would stick around and chat amongst themselves while I slept and then just lock up when they were through. If they weren’t sure if it was too early for me to sleep, they’d ask what the protocol was before I even got onto my bed. It’s comically ridiculous, but the honest and sad reality.
Despite its inconvenient timing, this odd little skill has come in handy during this job. Often times, I have 30-90 minutes to kill between schools, fairs, or driving. Fortunately, I can very easily pull over into a parking lot and catch a little siesta. Sometimes all I need is about 5 minutes and I feel completely refreshed. It’s awesome, I’m not going to pretend otherwise. The best way, in my mind, to pass 30 minutes of free time is to nap. I often nap in McDonald’s parking lots, way off in the corner, where I am not taking up prime spots and no one will really see me.
The other day I was at a fair and a rep from another university said had set her alarm wrong and gotten to the fair at 8am instead of 10am. She had hours to kill so she slept in a McDonald’s parking lot. To make her feel better, I told her that I slept in one the day before. The rep on the other side of us chimed in, “Today I slept at Dunkin Donuts!” Apparently, this is just the ways of the job. You gotta do what you gotta do! Though, I am certainly glad that I am not the only one who does!
On a separate sidenote, a couple weeks ago another rep, who I had just met an hour earlier, told me she had to pee so bad during her travels that she actually pulled into someone’s driveway and peed right there with her car door blocking her. I guess she couldn’t find a restroom because the town was so small, but I’m not sure why she didn’t just go on the side of the road or into the woods. Not something I’d ever admit to a new acquaintance, but I am glad that other reps make use of the “do what you gotta do” motto.
So I am sitting here at the San Francisco Airport. It’s a long story, but I have been sitting here for about six hours. I arrived here (with A) 3 ½ hours prior to the flight, because we had nothing better to do with our time. So we sat in a terminal for hours, chatted, talked to strangers, watched a episode of Friends and looked at photos from our vacation. We did a crossword puzzle from People Magazine, but we were so terrible that random strangers sitting 10 feet away started chipping in with answers. I think 3 different people helped us on separate occasions. We appreciated their assistance, but more shockingly, two of our helpers, a male and female, ended up moving to sit closer together and hit it off. They talked for an hour! Maybe it’s love!
I’m not blogging about the following events in any great detail, but let’s just say a little oversightht occurred and we ended up missing the plane. Turns out we were sitting at the wrong gate the whole time!! A United 
flight would not be leaving from the American Airlines terminal. DUH. I find this whole scenario absolutely hilarious. I’m not a bit upset, frustrated, or sad at all. Only in my life would such things happen. You can’t make this stuff up! This is certainly going to be one of those moments A and I look back on in 6 months or 6 years and laugh hysterically. Fortunately, United is giving us a free flight (7 hours later) back home. We didn’t want to get a hotel for just 5 hours, so here we sit, camping on our makeshift bed consisting of two couches pushed together. No clothes, no toothbrush, no make-up. I’m fairly certain I smell, but there aren’t any shops open. Only one bathroom way way down the hall is open. Luckily, I have a blanket and we each have a pillow, coat, and lapt
op. Our luggage is traveling the country without us, but we are really quite okay. Less than ideal for sure, but at least I have some company. We decided early on that it wouldn’t be smart for both of us to sleep simultaneously. Who would watch the laptops? Sleep shifts only sounded logical. Now it’s my shift to stay away. And sitting under a blanket, shaking because I am so cold isn’t a good way to stay awake, but writing as lengthy blog isn’t too bad. I’m sitting here, staring at A as he sleeps, praying he wakes up soon. I can’t wait for my shift to end so I can put that oh-so-useful sleeping skill to good use!
Sweet Dreams in San Fran,
-J
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